Our culture has long been obsessed with the private lives of our celebrities more so than their actual accomplishments (Fox Sports Radio barely mentioned the dismissal of Bobby Bowden or Charlie Weis all week in favor of beating the Tiger Woods story to death) but seeing as how that's not what this blog is about- nor do I care all that much what happened to begin with- we're going to stick to actual college football news and predictions. Dadgum!
Being a life-long Husker fan I have experienced the frustration of never getting over on Bobby Bowden's Florida St. Seminoles. He owned us in the early 90's and unfortunately, by the time the Huskers finally developed their own recipe for success midway thru the decade, they never got another shot at the Seminoles for redemption.
For the record I've never been a big fan of the Good 'Ole Boy attitude that Bowden displayed time and again in the face of team violations, which inevitably cropped up every year under his watch. Oh sure, Bowden achieved some incredible plateaus during his coaching tenure; 14 straight top-5 finishes, 11 consecutive bowl wins, 34 consecutive years with a winning record (they have to win their bowl game this year to keep that streak alive) but I think he also provided an example of how NOT to go out at the end of your career (as if there weren't already enough of those). I understand that I'm not in his shoes, I have no idea how hard it would be to step down from what you love doing, etc., etc., but there comes a time when you have realize that you are still in it for you, and not for the greater good of the program. Some say Paterno should follow his lead.
The only difference is, Paterno is still winning (albeit in the Big 10) and getting big-time recruits, which is something FSU has failed to do over the past few years. For a moment I was geniunely sad for the coach who longed to go out on his own terms, but who was denied that right by the ones who sign his paycheck, all because he was too stubborn to let go of the reigns when the time was right. Seinfeld had it right- it's best to get out while you're still on top. Just ask Michael Jordan.Weis on the other hand left a completely different type of legacy. As bad as he is at being a head coach, he's much worse at being a teacher or mentor. If I have to hand it to him for one thing it's that he's sure managed to keep all of this at arm's length. He somehow always managed to separate himself from the losses. In my opinion, the man is deceptive, arrogant and possibly lacking a soul.
He threw his players under the boss numerous times over the past 5 years and after his final game as ND head coach, rather than face the media head on, he dismissed himself without a word or an explanation to the media. I guess it was just as well, I mean, what would he have to say, anyway? He didn't know who his bowl opponent would be so he couldn't very well tell us that he was already focused on his next opponent. Get serious. ND is one more bad head coaching choice away from getting a new Athletic Director. After all, how many chances do you get to make a decent pick? I will say this, I don't think any of us have a clue who the next head coach at ND will be. (And to hear Lou Holtz declare it as still the best head coaching job in America just makes me wonder what he is still doing with a job himself...but that's a topic for another day.)Some of the best matchups of the year are going down this week. Let's take a look:
Oregon St. vs. Oregon
I'll admit, I haven't seen enough of OSU this year to make a decent prediction for this game. But I will say that every year they get better as the season goes on. That's just a trademark of Oregon St. football. They did beat Stanford and Cal, barely lost to USC and were in every game this year. I'm gonna say that the magic runs out for Oregon this week and their offense gets stymied by the defensive scheme of OSU. Both teams will score points, however. Oregon St. 37 Oregon 31
Cincinnati vs. Pitt
Can Cincinnati stop Pitt's Dion Lewis? If so, they'll be just fine, since Pitt won't be able to match Cincy's offensive output. I think Pitt takes the Bearcats deep into the 4th quarter but Cincinnati pulls this out in the end to keep the BCS an incredible mess. Cincinnati 42 Pitt 37
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
ACC Championship Game
Both of these teams took a huge step backward last week in embarrassing losses. Who will be able to put it behind them and rebound for this game? My question to you is this: when was the last time Clemson won an important game? My thoughts exactly. Tech 31 Clemson 19
Florida vs. Alabama
SEC Championship Game
No Carlos Dunlap for Florida. A hobbled Mark Ingram for Bama. Can Florida put enough pressure on McElroy to get him to make some errant passes and create turnovers? That's what will win the game for Florida. Well, that and leadership at the QB position. Florida pulls away in the 2nd half of this one and wins 27-17.
Texas vs. Nebraska
Big 12 Championship Game
Nebraska has laid an egg in one game this year- against Texas Tech. Other than that they have lost 2 other games by a total of 3 points. Texas has played one other team with a defense the caliber of Nebraska's, and they struggled mightily against Oklahoma. This Texas team is not the same as they were 6 weeks ago...they play loose, they play with drive and they play like they belong in the championship game. The only thing that has run out on these longhorns is lady luck. Too many simply unlucky things have happened to Nebraska when playing this team over the past decade. It doesn't make sense and it can't go on forever. Against my better judgment my heart says that the luck this year will fall in favor of the Huskers and even out the past. With not nearly as much to lose as the Longhorns, Nebraska will play confident, almost mistake-free and will knock Texas around in a physical match-up for the ages. Nebraska 24 Texas 21
Enjoy the games!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment